Students learn to see vertical,
horizontal, diagonal and curved lines by drawing fish. Students learn or review
how lines, shapes and colors create pattern and how overlapping shapes create
the illusion of three dimensional space. The finished fish drawing is colored
with markers and the ocean is painted with watercolor and salt.
1. Optional - Teacher or older
students should tape border before start of activity and carefully, slowly
"untape" after work is dry to create white border.
2. Demonstrate drawing the shape
of the fish body. Draw the fish body on the diagonal if that is what you see
on the reproduced handout. Now draw all the smaller parts lightly with your
pencil. Look for vertical, horizontal, diagonal, and curved lines. The mouth
is usually a diagonal line. The gills are curved lines. The tail is symmetrical
- both sides match.
3. Pass out the paper, pencils
and erasers.
4. Give each child a fish reproduction.
Tell them to draw one or two big fish and a few smaller fish. Demonstrate
how the illusion of three dimensional space can be created by overlapping
shapes (a stem of seaweed overlapping a fish, one fish overlapping the other).
Explain that overlapping means when one object is in front of another. Demonstrate
drawing only part of the object that is behind. It is okay to have part of
the fish go off the paper. Remind the students not to add texture with their
pencils. Draw shapes only. When the fish are complete, draw simple seaweed
shapes or rocks. Explain negative and positive shape.
5. Give each child a thin permanent
marker. Have them trace the pencil shapes and add texture to the fish and
plants. Remind students about pattern made by repetition of line (straight,
curved, etc.), repetition of shape (big circle, little circle) and repetition
of color (red, green, red, green, etc.) Tell students that patterns are often
found in nature. Have them think of some examples of patterns on animals,
fish, etc. (stripes, circles, scallops, etc.)
6. The fish and plants are colored
with bright, thin, waterbase markers.
7. Paint the water with shades
of turquoise, blue and purple watercolor. Add rock salt to a wet area as you
paint. The salt crystallizes. Allow the salt to stay on the paper until completely
dry and then brush off.
SCIENCE: This project fits will
in an ocean unit. Students learn the names of parts of a fish and the different
parts of the ocean where sea life is found (sandy beach, kelp forest, deep
ocean).
LANGUAGE ARTS: Write a poem using
ocean words picked out of a word bowl.
1. Create a rain forest painting.
Follow the same lesson structure. Distribute photographs of rain forest animals
for the students to draw and color. Work with the concept of darkness near
the forest floor and bright color toward the top. Use saran wrap in the wet
watercolor, leaving on until dry. This will form an interesting pattern for
leaves and rocks.
2. Make a fish print with a "real"
flat fish. The fish must be dry. Use waterbase black ink and a brayer to roll
on the ink onto the fish. Place paper on top of fish and press with finger
tips to achieve an impression of the fish.
3. Create a "resist"
painting by using oil pastels with the watercolors. Instead of using black
markers, students trace over the pencil lines with oil pastels. Watercolors
are painted over the oil pastel colors which acts as a resist( color will
not penetrate the oil pastels).
4. This same project can be done
with colored tissue paper (the type which bleeds) instead of watercolor paint.
Tissue is placed on the area where color is desired and brushed over with
water. The color will bleed onto the paper and then the tissue can be lifted
off.
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lesson plans
